Jean Gabin was one of the greatest film stars in the French cinema. He worked in the film industry during 1928 to 1976, starring in 95 films.

The sculpture depicts his role as a locomotive driver, Jacques Lantier, in the film La Bête Humaine (The Human Beast) which was adapted from the novel of the same name by Emile Zola. Released in 1938, the film spectacularly exposes the most beautiful train shots ever seen in the world of cinema.

The sculpture was inaugurated by Mrs. Yamina Benguigui, the French Minister for Francophony on 15 October, 2013.

2.

The Sculpture of George Eastman and Thomas Alva Edison

George Eastman (1854 - 1932) and Thomas Alva Edison (1847 – 1931) The Discoverer of Film and the Inventor of Motion Pictures.

The two gentlemen were preparing for filming at Kodacolor Garden Party. The event, held to introduce Kodacolor film to the public, took place at George Eastman’s home in Rochester, N.Y. on 30 July 1928.

Pieces in this installation were sculpted by Yodchai Meksuwan, who also sculpted his self-portrait sit considering his

4.

The Great Stone Face

Buster Keaton (1895 – 1966) The American comic actor, filmmaker, producer and writer. He was best known for his silent films, in which his trademark was physical comedy with a consistently stoic, deadpan expression, earning him the nick name “The Great Stone Face” The sculpture dipicts his role as a steam locomotive’s engineer in one of the world’s greatest films of all time “The General” (1927)

During the first term of his administration (1938-1944) Field Marshall P. Piboonsongkram brought about a tide of militant nationalism and renamed “Siam” as “Thailand”.

Additionally, restoration work was done on Ratchadamnoen Avenue with a view to creating a scene of civilization. Not only there were, on both sides, imposing constructions, the Avenue was also home for the Democracy Monument, which served as the center of the traffic circle and the center of the nation. This new area was fully expected to be the country"s financial district. At the beginning of Ratchadamnoen Klang (central), around the foot of the Pan Fah Bridge, a department store run by the Thai-known as Thai Niyom was erected. On the other side the government developed a scheme for construction of a grand national theater which was designed by an architect, Mr. Mew Apaiyawong. The theater was expected to house grand operas and film screenings. However, the construction was halted due to the Second World War and the termination of Piboonsongkram"s term of office.

Nonetheless, the project was completed when Piboonsongkram was back in power during his second term (1948-1957) and the building was then leased to Silp Thai Company, a private enterprise run by Mr. Pisit Tansadja. It was decorated and served as a theater under the name “Sala Chalermthai” and was officially opened in 1949.

“Sala Chalermthai” presented stage plays which enjoyed their rise during the post-war period. Unfortunately such drama events became sluggish and eventually defeated by a revival of motion pictures that was sweeping the country after the war. Consequently the building had been changed into a cinema since 1953. It was regarded as one of the country"s leading cinemas and always equipped with the latest technology to make it compatible with universal screening systems.

In 1987 the Rattanakosin Island Development Committee proposed a motion that the government purchase “Sala Chalermthai” from the Crown Property Bureau. The building was torn down in 1989 and replaced by King Rama III Memorial and it was agreed that the plot had to be cleared to uncover the Loha Prasat (the metal monastery) of Wat Ratchanadda which had been hidden behind the old cinema.

In 2012 the Film Archive (Public Organization) set up the miniature “Sala Chalermthai”. Albeit its structure, it is very much the spirit of the cinema, not a spirit house, aimed at imparting the younger generation extensive knowledge about one of the most historically important cinemas in Thailand.

6.

The former Spirit House

This creation used to be the spirit house of the Film Archive (in use during 1999 – 2013). It is the first and only spirit house replicating a cinema theatre of a typical style seen extensively in Thailand from the beginning of the Thai cinema history until the end of WWII.

This creation used to be the spirit house of the Film Archive (in use during 1999 – 2013). It is the first and only spirit house replicating a cinema theatre of a typical style seen extensively in Thailand from the beginning of the Thai cinema history until the end of WWII.

7.

The “Chuang-Cherd” Sculpture

The work designed by Chuang Moolpinit, a national artist of the year 2013 (Visual Arts), dedicated to his respected friend, Cherd Songsri (1931 - 2006), a film director who revealed Thai identity to the global film industry. Chuang chose to work with monolith, the powerful mysterious rectangle object, appeared in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey. The object represents the wisdom of creativity. Chuang inscribed the monolith with a sugar palm leaf design in regard to Cherd’s commitment to his Thai identity.

Chuang Moolpinit designed and prototyped this sculpture into an engraved stone in 2014. Enlarged to metal and installed by Kitti Sangkaew.

8.

General Prince Purachatra of Kamphaengphet(1882 – 1936)

A son of King Chulalongkorn (King Rama V) graduated from School of Engineering, University of Cambridge, England. He started working as a military engineer and later became the Commissioner-General of the Royal State Railways Department during the reign of King Rama VI. In the reign of King Rama VII, the prince became the commander-in-chief of the Ministry of Commerce and Transport, and the Supreme Council of State of Siam.

Prince Purachatra was notably an amateur filmmaker. He saw great benefits of films, as a medium for teaching and information dissemination. He founded the Topical Film Service of the Royal State Railways in 1922, where served as production center for newsreel and documentary films of Siam. It is considered the foundation of film production industry in Thailand.

Sculpted by Vittaya Machachan

Molded by Phatthara Lertsukittipongsa, Deco Foundry Co., Ltd.

9.

The Foreseer of the Cinema

This set of sculptures is erected to illustrate the inventor of moving images who was close to reveal to the world the first movie invention in 1890. But before that would happen, he mysteriously disappeared. Later on, many inventors exhibited their cinema inventions to the world. All of them, though, believed that cinema was an invention of no future.

Charlie Chaplin (1889 - 1977) was one among many great filmmakers who elevated filmmaking to the status of a work of art. He created "The Tramp" character that won the hearts of audiences all over the world. His films always give lessons to the audiences; among them are "A Dog’s Life" (1918) in which he co-starred with Mut - a dog actor, and "The Kid" (1921), the film that he starred with Jackie Coogan (1914 - 1984) - one of the most well-known child stars in film history. The kid alerts Chaplin to look at a man sitting by the fountain by pointing at him. The man would find no future in his movie invention but became the only inventor who foresaw the great future of the cinema. His name was Louis Aimé Augustin Le Prince (1841 – vanished 1890).

On the royal tour in Europe in 1897, Prince Sanbhasatra, a younger brother of King Rama V, was responsible for purchasing new and unusual things encountered there. The prince bought “three sets of Nang Farang (Western films)”, probably including a camera and projector from France.

There is evidence to suggest that Prince Sanbhasatra began to make his own films and to screen them in his palace from 1900. The prince also set up an exhibition stall at the annual fair of Benjamaborphit temple, and permitted foreign travelling exhibitors to rent his films. As the nation’s first filmmaker, then, the prince is the father of Siam cinema.